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grok

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.

To have a thorough understanding of a subject. The word comes from Robert Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land," and it means "to drink" in Martian. Of course. But more specifically in the book, it meant to take something in so thoroughly that it becomes part of you.

Grokking the GIMP
The GIMP is a sophisticated paint and image editing program in the Unix environment (see GIMP). This book, "Grokking the GIMP" by Carey Bunks is a title that means "Completely Understand the GIMP." (Image courtesy of New Riders Publishing, www.newriders.com)

grok - /grok/, /grohk/ (From the novel "Stranger in a Strange Land", by Robert A. Heinlein, where it is a Martian word meaning literally "to drink" and metaphorically "to be one with")

1. To understand, usually in a global sense. Connotes intimate and exhaustive knowledge.

Contrast zen, which is similar supernal understanding experienced as a single brief flash. See also glark.

2. Used of programs, may connote merely sufficient understanding. "Almost all C compilers grok the "void" type these days."


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com, then all you do is enter a search phrase and click the Grok button.
Odvard Egil Dyrli on visual search tools: Grokker and related tools ... by Dyrli, Odvard Egil / District Administration
If you don't grok Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, and Time Enough for Love, you just plain can't grok anything.
35 Heroes of freedom: celebrating the people who have made the world ... by Reason
San Francisco, CA) and the former editor of International Data Group's now-closed Media Grok magazine, has begun the publication of Media Unspun, an electronic newsletter designed to cover the media business.
Foermer staff of "Media Grok" launches online newsletter by Business Publisher
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